By Bill Zeeble, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-979295.mp3
Dallas, TX – A new study out today from one of the nation's large health care companies says already-limited health care in rural regions will get worse without technological improvements. KERA's Bill Zeeble explains.
With the new health care law, those previously uninsured will now be able to seek doctors and care. So the need for access will rise. Research from the United Health Group and Harris Interactive shows rural adults will have a tougher time seeking help than those in cities and suburbs. That's because - and this is not new - they have fewer primary care doctors and specialists, and have farther to go to see one.
The study also confirms rural residents are more likely than those in cities to have diabetes and heart disease. Doctor Lewis Sandy, with United Health, says there have long been incentives to attract freshly-minted doctors to smaller country towns. But he says now's the time to add the latest technologies.
Sandy: There can be remote consultations from specialists who may be in a central location but they can get very broadband remote consultation essentially through skype-type technology through webcams in the home, so that people don't have to transport themselves and you can overcome the burden of time and distance in rural areas so people have access to the best specialty care for their individual healthcare needs.
Sandy says these new technologies already exist and will get better. But broad band doesn't yet reach enough rural communities, and some doctors there lack knowledge of how the latest technologies can help patients. He also says some two million Texans now live in rural areas most affected by doctor and medical shortages.